The subject invention relates to an insulation batt-packaging machine and, in particular, to an improved, versatile, high-speed apparatus and method of loading insulation batts into a packaging station of a batt-packaging machine, a batt-packaging machine incorporating such an apparatus, and the method of utilizing such an apparatus for loading insulation batts into a packaging station of a packaging machine. The apparatus and method of the subject invention are especially well suited for economically, efficiently, and rapidly delivering unfolded and single-fold insulation batts into the loading station of an insulation batt-packaging machine.
Faced and unfaced fiberglass insulation batts are currently produced and packaged in unfolded and single-fold insulation batt form on high capacity production lines. Typically, these high capacity production lines each include a high capacity fiberglass insulation batt manufacturing operation that produces the fiberglass insulation batts, ready for packaging, as batts in unfolded or single-fold form and a packaging operation for packaging the insulation batts in packages that contain between two and twelve compressed batts per package. For sales to builders and commercial insulation contractors, the fiberglass insulation batts are commonly sold in a package containing between four and sixteen compressed batts. The shorter length batts (e.g. batts about four feet in length) are typically packaged in an unfolded condition. The longer batts (e.g. batts about eight feet in length) are typically folded in half so that the length of the package containing the batts approximates one-half of the length of the batts within the package (e.g. about four feet)
Current packaging operations may use a batt-packaging machine and method, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,383, issued Feb. 21, 1989, that up-stacks unfolded or single-fold insulation batts into an up-stacking station of the packaging machine to form a vertical stack of the insulation batts. This stack of insulation batts is then delivered to a packaging station of the packaging machine where the stack of insulation batts is compressed and packaged. As shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,383, this type of batt-packaging machine currently utilizes a reciprocating loader mechanism to individually up-stack insulation batts into an up-stacking station of the packaging machine and form the vertical stack of the insulation batts. This vertical stack of insulation batts is then delivered to the packaging station of the machine. To load each individual insulation batt into the up-stacking station of the packaging machine and form the vertical stack of insulation batts, the current reciprocating loader mechanism cycles through a loading stroke and a return stroke. While the return stroke of this reciprocating loader mechanism cycle may be somewhat faster than the loading stroke, in general, the need for the reciprocating loader mechanism to return to its initial position before the up-stacking of the next insulation batt can commence causes a pause in the batt up-stacking operation and essentially doubles the loading time for each batt loading cycle. Thus, there has remained a need for an apparatus and method for use in such packaging machines that enables the continuous or substantially continuous loading of insulation batts into an up-stacking station of the packaging machine to thereby essentially reduce by half the time for forming a stack of insulation batts in the up-stacking station. The apparatus and method of the subject invention provide for the continuous up-stacking of insulation batts into the up-stacking station of such a packaging machine and thereby essentially reduce the up-stacking time of the packaging operation by half. By replacing the up-stacking apparatus and method currently used in packaging machines of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,383 with the up-stacking apparatus and method of the subject invention, packaging machines of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,383 will easily accommodate the production capacities of current fiberglass insulation batt production lines and other insulation batt production lines as well as increased production line capacities for these and other insulation batt production lines.